Bible Strands
Song of Solomon 2:1
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The woman speaks in a poetic exchange, identifying herself while the immediate context places her among other maidens and compares her to a lily surrounded by thorns.
The words — חֲבַצֶּ֣לֶת (cha.va.Tze.let) translates literally to crocus or rose, and שֽׁוֹשַׁנַּ֖ת (sho.sha.Nat) means lily, anchoring her self-description in specific regional flora.
The thread — Botanical metaphors recur in Hosea 14:5 where Israel is promised to blossom like a lily, and in Isaiah 35:1 where the desert will blossom like a rose, while Isaiah 57:15 describes God dwelling with the humble and contrite without floral imagery.
Why it lands — The text asks the reader to observe how the speaker uses plant imagery to establish her identity and value within a specific social setting. It requires noting the literal botanical terms before moving to any comparative analysis with other passages.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Hosea 14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
- Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
- Song of Solomon 5:13 His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.
- Song of Solomon 2:16 My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
- Song of Solomon 6:3 I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
- Psalms 85:11 Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.